Karnataka is facing a financial crunch, evident from a record 255% increase in its net debt for fiscal 2018-19, an official said on Wednesday while citing a Comptroller and Auditor General report. “In its state finance audit report, the CAG red-flagged that Karnataka’s net debt was `17,766 crore in 2018-19 financial year, a whopping increase of 255% over the 2017-18 fiscal,” said the report, which was tabled in the state legislature on Tuesday.A 6-day Monsoon Session of the legislature began on Monday after it was delayed due to the Covid-induced lockdown and surging virus cases across the southern state.To meet the growing expenditure, the previous Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)-Congress coalition Govt borrowed heavily -- 55% of the debt from the open market, 27 % from public account, 6 per cent from national social security fund and 5 per cent from the central Govt.